Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Title Explained By The Director

The first Star Wars film outside the Skywalker Saga has a hefty task ahead of it. The movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has to match the expectations of the fans that made Episode VII, aka The Force Awakens into a two billion dollar hit, but also successfully tell its own story, and prove why these standalone films should exist in the first place. That's something chief on the mind of director Gareth Edwards, who acknowledged that the very title of the film helps to establish those things and more.

"I'd been thinking about it. What does [the title] mean?" Edwards posited in Empire's cover story on the film. "'Rogue One' is a military call sign to some extent, but this is the first film that's gone off-piste and is not part of the saga - so it's the 'rogue' one, you know?" In the other Star Wars films and TV shows, fans have heard X-wing and Y-wing pilots referred to as "Red One" or "Black Leader" - that means "Rogue One" could be a member of a "Rogue Squadron," most fans' first impression of the title.

The film's name can also refer to Jyn Erso, played by Felicity Jones, as Edwards says "it's kind of describing her as well, in a similar way. It has these split, multiple meanings that made it feel like the right choice." He denied, however, that he's in anyway referenced by the title himself.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story tells the tale of the scrappy band of rebels sent to steal the plans to the Empire's Death Star, as described briefly in the opening crawl to the first ever Star Wars movie. It hits theaters December 16, 2016. Catch up on all the Rogue One news at our topic page.